Detert's foster program bill passes

A bill aimed at bringing a little more “normalcy” to the lives of thousands of foster children in Florida was sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday in a 38-0 vote by the Senate.

The bill (HB 215) _ sponsored by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, and Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula _ will replace an elaborate reporting and compliance system for many activities of foster children with a simpler “reasonable prudent parent” standard.

What it means is that foster parents will given the ability to make more decisions in the lives of the children under their care without having to submit a plan and secure approval from state welfare workers.

Detert said it can mean things as simple as having the child get a haircut to attending a prom or having a young athlete travel with his team on an overnight stay for an away game.

“It really changes the dynamic to where they really are going to spend more time with their foster parents in a real family situation rather than so much time with staff directors and case workers,” Detert said. “It will just give them a more normal life experience.”

“We’re also going to empower the foster parents,” she added. “We’re going to allow them to parent.”

Among the examples cited during testimony on the bill, Detert said there was a case with foster parents waiting three months to get permission to cut a 3-year-old child’s hair. Another example was the fact that siblings of the foster children could not stay for an overnight visit if they had not undergone fingerprinting and a background check.

“It’s bad enough that I lost my parents without losing my brothers and sisters too,” Detert said one foster child told her. “In the interest of safety we have bubbled-wrapped these kids and deprived them of a normal childhood.”

Detert said the main goal of the legislation is to try to give the foster children a more normal growing-up experience.

“What we found in talking to the kids, like most teenagers, they just want to be a regular kid. They don’t want to have foster care kid branded on their foreheads.”

Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief.
He can be reached by email or call 850 556-3542.
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Last modified: March 27, 2013
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